She said: "The CQC observed consistently high levels of compassion, commitment and good, safe care among our frontline staff and we are very proud of this.

CQC FINDINGS

Patients were sent a long way from home for psychiatric intensive care or acute hospital beds

Some patients were unable to get out of hours support in a crisis

Too many patients in crisis were taken to police stations or A&E departments

Long waiting lists for psychological therapies

"As we would expect, the CQC also identified areas where improvements need to be made - and we are developing a comprehensive action plan to address these."

The Care Quality Commission sent 37 people over four days to conduct the inspection of six hospitals and more than 100 community services.

Dr Paul Lelliott, CQC's deputy chief inspector of hospitals, said there was a strong culture of learning from incidents.

He said: "Staff providing cover out of hours are not always able to respond effectively to mental health crises affecting people living in the community.

"Most of the patients and carers we met described staff as caring and compassionate but, while Devon Partnership NHS Trust provided effective services in many areas, the availability of the service can all depend on where you live."

It may be years before all the improvements can be made, but inspectors say they will be monitoring progress to give mental health patients get treatment where and when they need it.